


Picking up the pieces

by best_life_ever7



Series: Secrets series [2]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29538438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/best_life_ever7/pseuds/best_life_ever7
Summary: Sequel to Secrets, lies, and the truth...Mark must navigate life as as single parent and Jack and Sam come to terms with their relationship
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Series: Secrets series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170089
Comments: 20
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoy the conclusion to Secrets, lies, and the truth. I will post once a week until I finish writing the rest of it, which I'm almost done doing! After that I'll probably post twice a week :)

Chapter 1

It’s been two days since the funeral, and all Mark can think about is that talk with Jack out at the gazebo. He’s been nearly silent since that night. The way Jack knew exactly what he was thinking and feeling was just unreal, he didn’t even know he was thinking those things. He looks around the room, Sam is on the couch with Aubry, the little girl that was once so bubbly and full of life hasn’t even cracked a smile since her mom died. His dad, Jacob, is in the recliner reading a book, and Luke, the boy that could talk your ear off if you didn’t stop him, has been silent and staring off into space. His family, or what’s left of it, is falling apart around him, and for the past few weeks, he really hasn’t cared. Sam and their dad don’t even bother trying to talk to him anymore, his kids don’t try either. 

Jack’s words ring loudly in his ears, “if you push everyone away, there won’t be anyone left to help you. It only gets darker and darker from here, and you don’t want to be all alone when you hit the bottom, believe me.” 

What really got to him was when Jack said, “I had no one to turn to, I thought that’s how I wanted it, but I was wrong. I allowed that self-hatred to consume me, and I sunk deeper and deeper into that dark hole, and I had no idea how to get out. I tried to get out the only way I could think of, so I put a gun to my head.”

How could such a strong and confident man allow that to happen? Mark realizes that he absolutely does NOT want that to happen to him. “Can I have a moment alone with my children please?” He says out of the blue, startling all 4 of them.

Sam and Jacob look at each other with uncertainty. Mark notices his dad giving Sam a slight nod, then she says something to Aubry before getting up off the couch, Jacob following right behind her.

Mark gets up and sits down on the couch between his kids. He looks back and forth at both of them, then he opens his arms and both children lean into him. Mark feels overcome with emotions and cries, “I’m so sorry I haven’t been here for you. That will change starting now. I’ll do better, I promise.” And he kisses the tops of each of their heads.

“I love you, daddy,” Aubry says between sniffles.

Luke doesn’t say anything but wraps his arms around his father and squeezes as tight as he can.

They sit there for a while longer embracing each other before Mark says, “Now, I need to go talk to Auntie Sam and Grandpa, I’ll be back.”

_____________________________________________________________________

As Sam and Jacob enter the kitchen, Sam turns to her father and asks, “What do you think he’s doing out there?”

“I don’t know, I’m just glad he’s not yelling,” Jacob replies.

Sam huffs and says, “Yeah, though he’s been distant.”

“Speaking of, there seemed to be an entire universe between you and Jack, and that’s quite a feat being as you were in the same room,” Jacob says, looking at Sam pointedly.

“Dad,” Sam starts.

“Sam, what happened? I traveled here with Jack and of course he didn’t say much, but I got the distinct impression that there’s more to your guy’s breakup than just the fact that he was engaged to Onica a long time ago,” Jacob says.

Sam closes her eyes, this is the last thing she wants to talk about, let alone with her father. Breaking up with Jack was one of the hardest decisions she’s ever made, and she’d be lying if she said she hasn’t thought about calling him and talking things out. She just can’t get past the fact that he kissed another woman. Yeah the situation was bizarre but that’s not an excuse.

“I’d rather not get into that right now, dad,” she replies.

“Just answer me this, is there any way the two of you will work things out?” Jacob asks, looking Sam in the eye.

Sam returns his stare for a moment, then looks away and says, “I don’t know, dad, I don’t know.”

Jacob feels pity for his daughter, he knows how much she and Jack love each other. He wasn’t all that happy about the relationship at first, though he didn’t tell Sam that, but he really likes Jack. He really liked how happy Sam always seemed to be. The bright smile she always carried, the light that shined in her eyes, a light that hadn’t been there since her mother died. 

Before Jacob can respond, Mark enters the kitchen. He and Sam both stand straighter and after a moment Jacob asks, concern evident in his voice “Is everything alright, son?” 

“Yeah, I just wanted to apologize to both of you for my behavior. I shouldn’t have yelled at you so much, or at all really. I also really appreciate you both being here and helping the way you have,” he pauses to collect himself a moment, “I just promised the kids that I would do better and I want to make the same promise to the both of you, I’ll do better.”

“Mark,” Sam says with sympathy, as she and their father engulf him in a huge hug.

After the embrace, Jacob says, “We’re here for you, son, whatever you need.”

“Yeah, whatever you need,” Sam repeats.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for the kudos and comments! Some really touched me and made me feel so good. The first few chapters are shorter as I had originally planned this to be a quick wrap up but then things changed and chapters got longer hahha. I hope you all enjoy this :)

Chapter 2

6 weeks later

Mark sits in his car after dropping his kids off at their new school, he cannot believe what all has happened in the last few weeks. He buried his wife, turned down his big job promotion, moved to Colorado, and found out about The Stargate Program. His head is still spinning after that one. 

After he made the decision to move to Colorado to be closer to Sam, she got permission to give him limited information about it. She reasoned that seems as though Mark and his kids would be living with her for the time being, it would help if he knew at least a little about it. Plus, after everything that happened with Onica and Jack, they were both tired of keeping secrets. The biggest secret of all was finding out that his father has an alien living inside his head!

Mark thinks about Jack, the man who had literally changed his life and helped him to see that what happened was just a tragic accident. Mark will always feel guilty, he never should’ve left his wife to travel home alone, and he wishes he could have made things right with her. Made sure that she knew he loved her and was willing to put everything that had happened behind them.

He also thinks about the fact that Sam and Jack are no longer together. He can’t help but to think that it’s all his fault. Sam hasn’t said much about it, just that things were complicated. Mark has taken Jack up on his offer to talk and has called him a couple times. Jack didn’t say much about Sam either. 

Mark thinks about the heart-shaped emerald necklace that was in his wife’s purse when the police returned her possessions. He had demanded that she give it back, she obviously hadn’t done that, and now he wonders what that means. He still has it, he’s not sure why though. He had gone to throw it away but couldn’t do it. 

Mark has decided that there are some questions that need to be answered. He knows Sam will never talk, so he’s hoping that Jack will. Jack has shared a few more details of his past with Mark and, in a way, the two men have bonded. He’s hoping their bond is strong enough to withstand direct questions about what happened with Onica on her last night in Colorado. Mark doesn’t actually know if he really wants to know, but he feels like he needs to know.

Sam had told him that her team had the day off, she of course, went to the base anyways to check on some experiment she was working on. Mark, himself, doesn’t have work today either. He was fortunate enough that he was able to find a job pretty quickly after moving here. He’s not making as much money, but he has more free time to spend with his children.

Mark takes a deep breath and puts the car in drive and heads towards Jack’s house. He tries to stamp down the nerves that keep threatening to rise to the surface. He wonders what he’s more nervous about, Jack’s reaction to the questions that he’s going to ask, or the answers to those questions.

When Mark arrives at Jack’s house, he sees a new black Chevy Silverado sitting in the driveway. He feels bad about Onica wrecking his other one, but glad he was able to get Pete to pull some strings and get Jack’s license reinstated. 

Before he can talk himself out of this, Mark gets out of the car, walks up to the door, and knocks.

After a brief moment, Jack answers the door, “Mark, hey, I wasn’t expecting you. What’s up?”

“Yeah, I know, I should have called first,” Mark replies with a slight smile.

“That’s alright, uh, what brings you by?” Jack asks.

Mark looks down, then back up, and says, “I was hoping we could talk for a little bit.”

“Yeah, sure.” Jack replies, nodding his head.

After they stare at each other for a moment Mark asks, “Are you going to let me in?”

“Yes, of course. Come on in.” Jack answers and steps back from the door to allow Mark entry, then adds, “Make yourself at home, can I get you a drink?”

“No thanks, I’m fine,’’ Mark replies.

“Well, have a seat,” Jack says, gesturing to the living room. After they both take a seat Jack asks, “So, how’s the new job treating you?”

“It’s going alright, not as much money as I’d like, but it’s something.” Mark answers.

“How are the kids?” Jack asks next.

“They’re doing as well as can be expected,” Mark replies.

“That’s good.” Jack says with a small smile, then asks, “And you? How are you doing?”

Mark did call Jack a couple times when he was feeling particularly lost. It helped to talk to someone who truly understood. Though he could have just spoken to his father, for some reason, speaking to Jack was easier. Maybe because they weren’t overly familiar with each other.

Mark sighs heavily and says, “My whole life got turned upside down, and I still feel so much guilt.”

Jack nods, “Unfortunately the guilt never goes away.”

Mark nods and says, “I’m finding that out.”

Jack looks at him for a moment then asks, “So, what did you really come over here to talk about?”

This is it Mark thinks, it’s now or never. “I wanted to ask you a question,” he pauses to think about exactly what he wants to say, “I want to know exactly what happened between you and Onica.”

Jack stiffens at the request, he really doesn’t want to talk about her but he’s not all that surprised that Mark is asking. 

“What is it you want to know?” Jack asks.

“The night she spent here,” he waves his hands back and forth to stall Jack’s comment, “I’m not making accusations, I just know something happened. Forgive me for being blount, but Sam never would have broken up with you just because I told her to. I’m just wondering exactly how far things went,” Mark says, looking directly at Jack.

Jack considers Mark for a moment. He thinks about telling him that nothing happened, technically, that is true, nothing did happen that night. He also thinks about what finding out about the airport kiss could do to Mark. He’s finally in a better place and Jack doesn’t want to do or say anything that could undermine that.

Finally deciding that Mark deserves the truth, he says, “Things went further than they should have, but not that night,” he pauses briefly then finishes, “She kissed me at the airport and I kissed her back. That’s why Sam broke up with me. I never intended for that to happen, Mark, and it meant nothing. I’m sorry.”

Mark nods, “Well, now I understand why Sam is acting the way she is,” then as an afterthought, “Though, I’ll admit, I’m a little surprised by her reaction. She’s never acted like this with any other guy. She must really love you.”

Jack looks at Mark dumbfounded, “You’re not mad?”

“Surprisingly, no. I probably should be but I’m not. Besides, if you really think about it, I’m to blame.” Mark replies thoughtfully.

“Wait, what? How are you to blame?” Jack asks, confused.

Mark smiles a little and says, “If I hadn’t been acting like such a jerk, I never would have left. The opportunity wouldn’t have presented itself.”

“Mark, you’re not responsible for my actions, or Onica’s,” Jack replies, and he thinks about how strange it is to call her that.

“I overreacted to all of it. I see that now. The situation was awkward enough without me manufacturing more drama by my reactions,” he says, nodding his head.

“I think we all overreacted a bit,” Jack says by way of reply.

“I guess that’s what happens when you find out your wife has been keeping such a huge secret. Some of my friends back in San Diego didn’t understand that, they actually called my life a soap opera,” he laughs bitterly, “I guess they just didn’t understand that a person doesn’t know how they’ll react to something like this until they’re put in that situation.”

Jack nods in agreement, “That’s true. So how about we do better from here on out?”

“Sounds good to me. I’ve got two kids and I need to be better for them. I need a more positive outlook period,” Mark says, then adds, “Now if only Sam will come around.”

“She just needs time,” Jack says with false confidence.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is reading and commenting!! This chapter is a bit shorter but it is the start of how things get back on track. Also, I'm not a medical professional so please forgive any mistakes. All the medical knowledge I have I got from watching ER and Google hehe.

Chapter 3

1 week later

Sam is irritated. She’s watching the Colonel and Daniel engage in one of their back and forth banters as they get ready for their mission, and she’s not being included. She knows she told the Colonel not to speak to her, but she honestly didn’t think he’d actually not speak to her. She sighs inwardly because she knows she only has herself to blame.

She thinks back to the day they broke up. She believes she had reason to be upset, but she also thinks that she may have overreacted just a little. After all, Jack didn’t have to tell her about the kiss he shared with Onica, but he did, he was honest. Even Mark has told her that it would be alright with him if she wanted to get back together with Jack.

Sam thinks about her brother now. She thinks about how much he’s changed since his wife died. Right after the accident, Mark became really insufferable to be around, but then something changed. The night of the funeral, she saw Jack outside talking to Mark. She has no idea what got said, Mark has never told her, but after that night, he changed. Changed for the better. She should be thanking the Colonel. 

She knows she’s just being stubborn and she should talk to him, if he’s willing that is. She makes the decision right then and there that after this mission she will talk to Jack in the hopes of starting over.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was just a routine exploratory mission, how could things have gone so wrong? They met what appeared to be a primitive culture, everyone seemed nice. Sam now realizes that that should have been a warning.

They were standing around the DHD as Daniel was dialing when Sam heard two shots in quick succession. Almost simultaneously, she heard the Colonel grunt and fall to the ground. More shots rang out as they all dove for cover, but the Colonel lay still where he fell. Sam was trying to see if he was breathing but there was too much commotion and dust in the air, and he had fallen just out of her reach. 

Everything happened so fast after that. Teal’c was firing staff blast after staff blast and she, herself, was firing rapidly trying to give Daniel enough cover to finish dialing the gate. 

She glances over to where the Colonel lay, he is wearing protective gear that should stop most projecties, but she would have thought that he would have moved by now. The fact that he hasn’t has her worried. She can’t quite tell through the dust, but she thinks she might see blood starting to saturate the ground around the Colonel. This worries her even more.

Daniel finally gets the gate open and Sam quickly refocuses her attention and starts shouting out orders. She then radios the SGC calling for a medical team to be standing by. She and Teal’c let off a few more rounds until finally there’s a lull in the fire fight. Sam quickly orders Teal’c to get the Colonel through the gate while she and Daniel cover them. She hears the event horizon fluctuate as Teal’c enters, more projectiles come flying their way as she and Daniel jump through.

Once she’s standing on the ramp at the SGC, Sam orders the iris closed. At the sound of Janet Fraiser’s voice, Sam turns around and sees the room in chaos. Airmen are quickly trying to get out of the way, as are Daniel and Teal’c. The medical staff are all moving at the speed of light at the Dr’s orders. General Hammond is in the middle of it, ordering all unnecessary personnel out of the room, all while trying to stay out of the way himself. 

Sam moves closer, she needs to see him. She finds herself frozen when she finally gets a glimpse through the nurses. A tube has been inserted down the Colonel’s throat, and a nurse is rhythmically squeezing the bag attached to the other end in order to force air into the Colonel’s lungs. His tack vest and t-shirt have been cut open, while Janet tries to slow the bleeding. The blood, there’s so much blood.

Another medical technician has attached an IV and a portable heart monitor to the Colonel. Sam watches in morbid fascination, until suddenly she hears a series of beeps and sees the medical team move more frantically. Somewhere in the chaos, Sam hears Janet call for the portable defibrillator. The Dr. places the pads on the Colonel’s chest and the next thing Sam knows, his whole body spasms. Once, twice, three times until Janet declares there to be a pulse.

Sam next hears Janet order the Colonel to be placed on the waiting gurney. She then watches as the medical team rushes out of the room, but they aren’t moving away. She doesn’t even remember squeezing herself into the corner of the elevator, and she barely remembers hearing the General ask her how this had happened. 

As the doors of the elevator open on level 21 the Colonel begins to convulse. A moment later Sam hears a steady, non stop beep emanating from the heart monitor. Despite the voices and the shuffling around, that beep drowns out everything and is deafening. The next thing she knows, Janet is straddling the Colonel’s waist performing chest compressions as her team rushes the gurney down the hallway.

Sam enters the infirmary a couple seconds behind the medical entourage, only to be stopped by a nurse. Janet no doubt ordered the nurse not to let her pass as she rolled the Colonel into the surgical bay. How Janet can be covered in blood doing chest compressions, giving instructions to her team, and find an opportunity to have someone stop Sam, she will never know. 

Sam thinks she could go up to the viewing lounge but, as quickly as that thought enters her mind, that same nurse tells her to take a seat on one of the other beds for her post op check up. A moment later Daniel and Teal’c enter the infirmary too, and again, that same nurse orders them to do the same.

Sam barely registers that Daniel and Teal’c take a seat on a bed near her. Neither of them says anything, there’s nothing to say. All they can do now is wait and hope.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your kudos and comments. There's a saying that goes...things have to get worse before they get better...well that holds true with this, so don't freak out haha. Again, I'm not a medical professional. I tried to make things sound good but please forgive any mistakes :)

Chapter 4

Sam, Daniel, and Teal’c are all sitting silently in the hallway outside the infirmary, waiting for news on their commander and friend. General Hammond has been down a few times to check on his status. They were able to give the General a brief synopsis of what occurred on the planet, but were grateful when he said a full debrief could wait until they know more about Jack. 

It seems as though Janet has been in that room working on Jack forever. No one says anything, no one needs to. 

That means he’s still alive, Sam reasons to herself. As long as Janet is in there working, he’s still alive and there’s hope. 

Sam straightens up when she sees General Hammond appear around the corner, no doubt coming to check in again. 

“Any word?” The General asks.

“None,” Teal’c says in his calm soothing voice.

“They’ve been in there for a long time,” Daniel adds quietly.

Before anyone can say anything more, Janet Fraiser comes through the doors. The three team members all stand automatically, while General Hammond takes a few steps closer and asks, “Dr.?”

“He’s alive,” Janet says, giving them the most important information first. 

“Thank goodness,” Daniel says, breathing a sigh of relief.

Janet looks at them seriously and adds, “He’s not out of the woods yet. There was a lot of internal damage and substantial blood loss. There were two entry wounds, one in his chest, the other in his abdomen. The one in his abdomen thankfully didn’t hit anything major, just caused a lot of bleeding. The one in his chest, however, punctured his left lung. By the time we got to him, he’d already lost a lot of blood and wasn't breathing and had no pulse. I have no way of knowing how long he was like that. Right now, he’s on life support and that’s keeping him alive, and will hopefully give his body time to heal.”

“Is... is he going to be alright?” Sam asks, finally finding her voice.

Janet looks at Sam with sympathy, she knows that things between the two of them haven’t been the best, but she also knows that Sam still cares about him deeply.

“I can’t answer that question, all I can say is that he’s stable for now,” Janet says kindly, then adds, “He coded a number of times, and each time it was harder to get him back. All we can really do is hope for the best.”

“I’ll reach out to our allies, maybe the Tok’ra could come with a healing device,” Hammond says, then adds sarcastically, “If they respond that is. Keep me posted Dr.,” Hammond orders as he turns to head back to the control room.

“Can we see him?” Daniel asks.

“Only for a moment,” Janet responds as they follow her into the Colonel’s room.

When they enter the room, Sam is shocked by what she sees. She’s not sure why she’s so shocked, she’s seen people after a major injury like this before. Sam reasons that it’s because this isn’t just some person, this is Jack, her Jack. 

She sees him lying still on the bed, too still. There’s all kinds of tubes and machines connected to him, sustaining his life. Sam hears Daniel and Teal’c say something but she’s not sure what, she can’t hear anything over the beeps of the machines.

After a few minutes, “General Hammond wants you all for the debrief now. Besides, Jack needs to heal and the medical staff needs space to work,” Janet says in a tone that brokers no argument.

There wasn’t much to say in the debrief other than what they had already said. They went through the gate, met locals that seemed friendly, and then they were attacked by the same locals at the stargate. They have no idea why, or where the weapons came from as they hadn’t seen anything on the planet to give them the impression they had advanced weapons. 

“Seems how they have advanced weaponry, they might have communication equipment,” Daniel says.

“We could send a probe,” Teal’c suggests.

“Do it,” General Hammond orders.

“Have the Tok’ra responded sir?” Sam asks.

“No, not yet, we’ll keep trying though,” Hammond reassures them all.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Sam races down to the infirmary after receiving word that Colonel O’Neill’s condition has deteriorated. Daniel, Teal’c and General Hammond are already there. 

“What happened?” Sam asks as soon as she enters the room.

“I don’t know. I was just sitting with him when the machines went haywire,” Daniel says, clearly worried.

“O’Neill is strong, he will prevail,” Teal’c says with confidence.

After what feels like forever, Janet emerges from the Colonel’s room and says, “He’s stable, for now. I’m not sure how long he’ll stay that way though.”

“Dr., what happened?” Hammond asks.

“He’s developed some sort of an infection that seems to be causing his internal organs to fail. I’ve got him on antibiotics attempting to slow the deterioration and it seems to be helping, but it won’t for long. This infection is spreading at an alarming rate, I’ve never seen anything like it.” Janet answers, clearly winded from working so hard.

“What could have caused this?” Hammond intones.

“My guess is that it has something to do with the alien bullets. I have a team examining them right now but I’m afraid that at the rate of deterioration, Colonel O’Neill will need another surgery,” Janet responds, then matter-of -factly states, “and I don’t think he would survive it.” 

“I’ll send another message to the Tok’ra, I’ll message them every 5 minutes if I have to. After everything we’ve done for them, they owe us,” Hammonds says as he turns on his heel and walks out.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Janet was right. The infection was caused by the alien bullet. They found a compound in it that they can only guess was designed to do just this. Even a flesh wound could be deadly. A very effective and barbaric weapon. 

Within 6 hours of the onset of the infection, Colonel O’Neill was suffering complete organ failure. Janet and her team were working as fast as they could to try and stop the infection, but to no avail. 

Sam has been working with Janet, trying to combine medicine with science, to find a cure. That too has led to failure. They are yet to hear back from the Tok’ra or the Asgard, their most powerful allies, the ones that might actually be able to save the Colonel. 

Sam is now sitting with the Colonel, he looks so pale, so close to death. They tried everything they could think of to find a cure, if they had more time they might succeed. Time, though, is something they do not have. 

The antibiotics have slowed the infection but haven't stopped it. Janet said that she would keep working to find a cure but that they should prepare themselves. Daniel and Teal’c spent some time with Jack and now it’s Sam’s turn and she finds that she has no idea what to say.

She stares at him, he looks so pale laying there in his hospital bed. She opens her mouth to say something just as her phone vibrates in her pocket. She pulls it out irritated, knowing that it’s Mark again. He’s been calling her for hours now. 

Before she can give her brother anymore thought, all the machines in the room start sounding off. Next thing Sam knows Janet and the rest of the medical team are running over and Janet starts giving orders.

Sam suddenly feels like she did when they were on the planet and she saw the Colonel get shot. Things start happening fast but yet seem to slow down at the same time. A nurse administers another injection, the Colonel’s body starts to convulse, Janet yells for the crash cart as the heart monitor displays a steady line. 

Sam stands there, unable to move, yet unable to look away. The Colonel jerks with every shock but the line never changes. Sam loses count of how many times the eclectic current pulses through the Colonel’s body. She feels her own heart stop when the paddles are hovering over his chest and Janet looks over at her with an expression that she can’t quiet place.

The room is eerily silent as the nurses turn off all the machines. Janet makes a note on the Colonel’s chart and Sam feels numb. Jack O’Neill is dead.


End file.
